England bowler Jimmy Anderson endured a 'frustrating' opening day of the first Test against India on a flat pitch at Trent Bridge.

The tourists closed on 259 for four but it was hard work for England on an unresponsive surface.

Anderson took two of the wickets to fall, but none of the England attack could do anything about Murali Vijay, who finished the day unbeaten on 122.

"I think you have to give credit to the bowlers on a day like today," Anderson said on Sky Sports 2. "We've stuck at our jobs brilliantly. Someone like (Liam Plunkett), his job is to bang the pitch and to bang a pitch like that is a thankless task at times. He stuck at it brilliantly.

"It was a frustrating day. We had a couple of nicks that bounced just short. There was a full-blooded drive from (Ajinkya) Rahane off Stuart (Broad) that didn't carry to second slip. When that happens it's very frustrating. You don't mind a pitch being flat but you want the nicks to carry.

"We kind of played around with the tactics throughout the day. I went really straight with a straight field and that worked really well and then we just tinkered with it, just trying to figure out what would get wickets. When the nicks aren't carrying you have to find other ways."

Although England captain Alastair Cook has come in for plenty of criticism of late, Anderson praised the job he had done tactically on a long day in the field.

"He had a really good day," he said. "After the first couple of Tests of the summer he did get some criticism but I thought he did brilliantly. We all backed him up well, figuring out ways to get wickets and both the captain and the bowlers were happy."

The conditions suggest there is a long way to go in this Test match, but Anderson was looking forward to the challenge.

"We've worked so hard today and that is what Test cricket is about," he said. "Pitching up day after day, coming here and working extremely hard to get a result out of the game."

Vijay's fourth Test century was his first outside India, and came on the back of a frustrating 97 against South Africa.

"It's a dream start for me and for us as a team as well," he said. "We've worked hard for a couple of weeks and hopefully we can continue in the same way.

"It was very important for my personal satisfaction (to get a century) because I missed out in South Africa when I got 97 and couldn't get to 100. I have been working on my game, working on the basics and it has worked."